[iGuide] Choosing Your Domain Name

[Liam.]

Hello everyone,

When it comes down to making your site, you need a domain name. If you use a free host, then your URL's may be really long, such as: "http://s1.myfreewebsitehostingcompany.com/games/forums/myforum/index.php"

Or they can be even more devastating than that! If you have purchased paid hosting, then alot of hosting companies also offer a domain name, but then again - alot of them don't. If you're going to purchase a domain name at all - GoDaddy would be the best way to go, with domains as low as $1.99 per year. Alternatively, you can choose a free domain name - which is a good option before your website goes professional, incase it doesn't work out. If it comes down to free domain names, there are a couple of options.

.CO.NR     |     .TK     |     .CO.CC

.CO.CC would be the best option there, with no ads, and configurable nameservers, subdomains, etcetera. .CO.NR would follow closely behind, but doesn't have as many options, but still follows the no ads rule.

Onto the domain itself. You should have your website name itself at this stage, and you want your domain to be something people can remember, that they can get to easily and quickly. That is the only real tip when making a domain name - make it short and snappy, but also related to your site, or with your sites name/abbreviation/initials in it.

However, there are also long domain names that are successful, such as:

http://www.thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/

But don't think that you can make a successful site easily. up to six characters in the main domain (eg. http://www.ikorp.net/) is usually best, and the minimum you can go with is two. Then you come down to the Top Level Domain (TLD) that you want to use. The TLD's are things like .COM, .NET, .ORG, etcetera. Those three are the most common, but .COM is the most used ever. .NET closely follows behind. If the domain you've chosen isn't available, then don't go to a different TLD, go for a different domain. If iGuides.com isn't available, don't just go for iGuides.net - because most people would go to the .COM because it's the most common. Get a unique name so that later on, you can also purchase the .NET, .INFO, .ORG, or whatever, to protect your site.